Railroad-spike.



No. 698,843. Patenfed Apr. 29, I902.

w. c. MINER.

RAILROAD SPIKE.

(Application filed July 29, 1901.)

(No Model.)

zl ier UNITED STATES PATENT OFF E.

WILLIAM C. MINER, OF STANTON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO JACOB"W. TOKLAS, OF ABERDEEN, WASHINGTON.

RAILROAD-SPIKE.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent N 0. 698,843, dated April29, 1902.

Application filed J'nly 29 1901. Serial No. 73,131- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM C. MINER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Stan ton, in the county of Montcalm and State of Michigan,have invented a new and useful Railroad-Spike, of which the following isa specification.

The invention relates to improvements in railroad-spikes.

The object. of the present invention is to improve the construction ofrailroad-spikes and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient oneof great strength and durability adapted to be readily driven into awooden cross-tie without liability of splitting the same and capable offirmly engaging the tie with sufficient force to hold the'ra'il securelyin place.

A further object of the invention is to provide a railroad-spike of thischaracter which may be readily extracted from the cross-tie when theproper power is applied without injuring the spike.

The invention consists in the construct-ion and novel combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and pointed out in'the claim hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a railroad-spikeconstructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a similar viewtaken at one of the corners of the spike. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectionon the line 3 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4; is a similar view on the line 4 4 ofFig. 1.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all thefigures of the drawings.

1 designates a railroad-spike provided with a head 2 of the ordinaryconstruction and having a point 3 at its other end rectangular incross-section and adapted to be readily driven into a wooden cross-tiewithout splitting the same. The spike consists ofa shank or body portionwhich is square in cross-section, and the shank or body portion isprovided with an intermediate twisted portion 4, the twist extendingapproximately halfway around the spike, so that when the latter isdriven into a cross-tie the spike will make one-half a revolution. Thespike when started is arranged with the engaging portion of its headturned outward, and by driving the spike home it is rotated one-half arevolution, and the engaging portion of the head is gradu-- ally broughtaround into position for properly engaging the bottom flange of a rail.The twisted portion 4: is of the same area in cross section as therectangular portions 5 and 6, which are located above and below thetwisted portion, and the spike is not Weak ened by such twisting and isenabled to engage the cross-tie more securely than astraight spike, andit will require more force to extract it from a cross-tie.

In order to prevent the spike from being strained or twisted, andthereby inj ured when extracting it, it is provided directly beneath thehead with a cylindrical portion 7 adapted to fit in the claw of aspike-extractor or crowbar and capable of partially rotating therein asthe spike is extracted. This cylindrical bearing portion by permittingthe spike to rotate freely prevents the injury which results when thehead of the spike is firmly gripped by a spike-extractor, and the spikehas a twist which produces a rotary movement of the spike when thelatter is extracted. The cy-' lindrical portion of the shank is arrangedin rear of thecenter of the head of the spike, as clearly shown in Fig.4, and the said head has rounded side and front edges and is providedwitha straight rear edge.

It will be seen that the spike is exceedingly. simple and inexpensive inconstruction, that it is not weakened by the twist, and that it isadapted to be readily driven into a cross-tie without splitting the same5 also, it will be apparent that the cylindrical bearing portion whichis located beneath and merges into the head permits the spike whenengaged by an extractor to rotate freely in the same, whereby the spikeis prevented from being strained, twisted, or otherwise injured by suchextracting operation.

The twist of the spike may be either right or left hand, and in order toprevent the spike from rusting it may be galvanized or otherwise coatedor treated, and I desire it to be understood that these and similarchanges within the scope of the appended claim may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantagesof In testimony that I claim the foregoing as this invention. my own Ihave hereto affixed my signature in IQ What I claim isthe presence oftwo witnesses. A railway-spike havin a laterally-project- T 5 ing head,a pyramidal point, a shank rectan- WILLIAM MIL gulai' in cross-sectionand twisted in a half- Witnesses: turn, and a neck circular incross-section and GEORGE MOORE,

flaring into the head. BENJAMIN P. MOUNT.

